1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to securement devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for securing mobility equipment and a mobility equipment hoist in a motor vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
In the illustrated prior art installation according to FIG. 1, it is known that unoccupied mobility equipment 11 (e.g. wheelchairs, scooters, and the like) may be transported in a vehicle 13. Typically, the mobility equipment 11 is loaded into a storage compartment area 15 within the vehicle 13 (e.g. the rear portion of a mini-van, the rear portion of a full-sized van, the trunk of a car, the bed of a truck, or the like) by a lifting device 17. The lifting device 17 is usually a conventional mobility equipment hoist 17 that comprises an installation mounting arm 19, a motor 21, a boom portion 23, and a hook portion 25 connected to a lift strap 27. The hook portion 25 comprises a T-bar that is typically placed underneath a Y-bar (not shown) of the mobility equipment's seat 29 so that the mobility equipment 11 may be loaded into the vehicle 13. Conventional mobility equipment hoists 17 are commercially available from a number of suppliers, one of which is the Bruno Corporation of Madison, Wis.
Currently, standards that document proper installation techniques for mobility equipment hoists 17 in a vehicle 13 have not been properly addressed. In one possible recommended arrangement, the mobility equipment hoist 17 may be installed in the storage compartment area 15 of the vehicle 13 with a 6 mm stud, an L-bracket, a latch plate, and a seat belt mounting hole (not shown). However, this arrangement does not provide a significant amount of rigidity for loading heavy mobility equipment 11 and allows deflection about the base pan 31 of the vehicle 13. Thus, damage may occur to the base pan 31 as a result of undistributed load characteristics due to the mobility equipment hoist installation arrangement.
Although generally adequate for short-term installations, some users may wish to supplement the recommended installation arrangement. Typically, a supplemental installation arrangement may further comprise additional support bolts (not shown) added to the recommended installation arrangement, such as 10 mm or 12 mm bolts. In order for this supplemental installation arrangement to take place, the vehicle 13 is typically modified. Such modifications include the drilling of three or four mounting holes into the vehicular frame or base pan 31.
However, this supplemental installation arrangement may not be permissible in a leased vehicle 13 without the customer bearing responsibility for the installation alteration damages caused by the drilling of the mounting holes. Even further, if the desired location for drilling the mounting holes is not carefully chosen, a hole may be accidentally drilled into a spare tire, a gas tank, or the body of the vehicle 13. Such accidental drillings may typically result in undesirable damage including ruined spare tires, holes in gas tanks, or even water ingression into the passenger compartment area when the vehicle 13 if it is exposed to rain or when the vehicle 13 is driven through a car wash.
Even further, if the installation arrangement of the hoist 17 is not properly leveled, the overall load of the hoist 17 may tend to be improperly distributed when external forces are applied thereto during the operation of the vehicle 13. In such a situation, it is possible that the hoist 17 may detach from its installation arrangement in the storage compartment area 15 and become a large projectile during certain accident situations.
Yet even further, another problem associated with current mobility equipment and hoist arrangements is that once the mobility equipment 11 is loaded into the vehicle 13 by the hoist 17, the unoccupied mobility equipment 11 is typically left unsecured in the storage compartment area 15. If the mobility equipment 11 is left in an unsecured manner, the mobility equipment 11 is prone to become a projectile during certain accident situations.
Thus, although adequate for most applications, the supplemental installation arrangement does not prevent the drilling of mounting holes into the vehicular frame or base pan 31. Even further, the conventional and supplemental installation arrangements do not impede the hoist 17 or mobility equipment 11 from becoming a large projectile in the vehicle 13 during extreme accident situations.
As a result of the drawbacks associated with the conventional and supplemental installation arrangement techniques for mobility equipment hoists 17 and associated mobility equipment 11, it is apparent that there is a need for a device that improves installation and securing arrangements for mobility equipment hoists 17 and associated mobility equipment 11.